Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Empire Blizzard’

ABSTRACT

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Empire Blizzard’, characterized by its uniformly mounded plant habit; freely branching and large leaves; dense, full plants; uniform flowering; large flat daisy-type inflorescences that are about 6.4 cm in diameter; attractive long white ray florets that do not “pink” under low temperatures; bright yellow disc florets that develop slowly and maintain immature green coloration; numerous inflorescences per plant; and excellent garden performance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora andreferred to by the cultivar name Empire Blizzard.

The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted bythe Inventor in New Hartford, N.Y. The objective of the breeding programis to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars havinginflorescences with desirable inflorescence forms, attractive floretcolors and good garden performance.

The new cultivar originated form a cross made by the Inventor inOctober, 1994, of the Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Empire AspenU.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,885 as the male, or pollen, parent with anunidentified proprietary seedling selection as the female, or seed,parent.

The cultivar Empire Blizzard was discovered and selected by the Inventoras a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in acontrolled environment in New Hartford in September, 1995. The selectionof this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form, attractiveray floret color and excellent garden performance. Plant of newChrysanthemum have larger inflorescences, fewer ray florets and flowermore uniformly than plants of the parent cultivar, Empire Aspen.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in acontrolled environment in New Hartford has shown that the uniquefeatures of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true totype in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Empire Blizzard has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, daylength and lightintensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repreatedly observed and are determinedto be the unique characteristics of ‘Empire Blizzard’. Thesecharacteristics in combination distinguish ‘Empire Blizzard’ as a newand distinct cultivar:

1. Uniformly mounded plant habit.

2. Freely branching and large leaves; dense, full plants.

3. Uniform flowering.

4. Large flat daisy-type inflorescences that are about 6.4 cm indiameter.

5. Attractive long white ray florets that do not “pink” under lowtemperatures.

6. Bright yellow disc florets that develop slowly and maintain immaturegreen coloration.

7. Numerous inflorescences per plant.

8. Excellent garden performance.

The new Chrysanthemum is similar to the Chrysanthemum cultivar Tracy,disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,609. However in side-by-sidecomparisons under commercial practice, plants of the new Chrysanthemumdiffer from plants of the cultivar Tracy in the followingcharacteristics:

1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are denser and have larger leavesthan plants of the cultivar Tracy.

2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about 10 to 14 days later thanplants of the cultivar Tracy under natural season conditions.

3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have larger inflorescences thanplants of the cultivar Tracy.

4. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have a more distinct daisyinflorescence form with fewer but longer ray florets than plants of thecultivar Tracy.

5. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum maintain green centers longer thanplants of the cultivar Tracy.

6. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower more uniformly than plants ofthe cultivar Tracy.

7. Ray florets of plants of the cultivar Tracy tend to “pink” under lowtemperatures, whereas ray floret color of plants of the newChrysanthemum maintain white color under low temperatures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of thenew Chrysanthemum. These photographs show the colors as true as it isreasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type.Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color valuescited in the detailed botanical description which more accuratelydescribe the actual colors of the new Chrysanthemum.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a top perspective viewof a typical flowering plant of ‘Empire Blizzard’.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet comprises a close-up view oftypical inflorescences of the cultivar ‘Empire Blizzard’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms ofordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observationsand measurements describe plants grown in Pendleton, S.C., underconditions which approximate those generally used in commercial gardenChrysanthemum production. One rooted cutting was planted in a 15-cmcontainer on Jul. 26, 1999 and plants were grown without cover undernatural season conditions. Measurements and numerical values representaverages for typical flowering plants.

Botanical classification: Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar EmpireBlizzard.

Commercial classification: Daisy-type garden chrysanthemum.

Parentage:

Male parent.—Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Empire Aspen, disclosedin U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,885.

Female parent.—Unidentified proprietary seedling selection.

Propagation:

Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.

Time to rooting.—Seven to ten days with soil temperatures of 21° C.

Rooting habit.—Fine, fibrous and well-branched.

Plant description:

Appearance.—Perennial herbaceous daisy-type garden Chrysanthemum.Inverted triangle; mounded plant form. Stems initially upright, thenoutwardly spreading giving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant.Freely branching with lateral branches potentially developing at everynode.

Plant height.—About 23 cm.

Plant spread.—About 37 cm.

Stems.—Texture: Pubescent. Color: 144A.

Foliage description.—Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 5.3 cm.Width: About 4.9 cm. Apex: Cuspidate. Base: Mostly truncate. Margin:Palmately lobed, sinuses parallel to divergent. Texture: Upper surfacesparsely pubescent; lower surface moderately pubescent. Veins prominenton lower surface. Petiole length: About 1.4 cm. Petiole diameter: About3 mm. Color: Young foliage upper surface: 147A. Young foliage lowersurface: 147B. Mature foliage upper surface: 147A. Mature foliage lowersurface: 147B. Venation upper surface: 147A-147B. Venation lowersurface: 147B.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance.—Flat daisy-type inflorescence form with elongatedoblong-shaped ray florets. Inflorescences borne on terminals abovefoliage, arising from leaf axils. Disk and ray florets arrangedacropetally on a capitulum. One inflorescence per terminal with about145 inflorescences per plant.

Flowering response.—Under natural season conditions, plants flower inthe autumn about 80 days after planting.

Inflorescence bud.—Height: About 5.5 mm. Diameter: About 7.5 mm. Color:Slightly darker than 143A.

Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 6.4 cm. Depth (height): About 1 cm.Diameter of disc: About 1.6 cm.

Ray florets.—Shape: Elongated oblong; mostly flat. Length: About 2.6 cm.Width: About 8.5 mm. Apex: Dentate. Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth,glabrous, satiny. Orientation: Initially upright, then perpendicular tothe peduncle. Number of ray florets per inflorescence: About 28. Color:When opening: White, 155D. Opened inflorescence: Upper surface: White,155D. Lower surface: White, 155D.

Disc florets.—Shape: Tubular, apex dentate. Length: About 6.5 mm. Width:Apex: About 2 mm. Base: About 1 mm. Number of disc florets perinflorescence: About 159. Color: Immature: 151A. Mature: Apex: 14A.Mid-section: Whitish green. Base: White.

Peduncle.—Aspect: Flexible, angled about 45° to the stem. Length: Firstpeduncle: About 6.3 cm. Third peduncle: About 7.2 cm. Diameter: About 3mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: Between 146A and 147A.

Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anthercolor: 14A. Pollen: Moderate. Pollen color: 17A. Gynoecium: Present onboth ray and disc florets.

Seed.—Seed production has not been observed.

Disease resistance: Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have not been shownto be resistant to known Chrysanthemum diseases when grown undercommercial production conditions.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plantnamed ‘Empire Blizzard’, as illustrated and described.